law enforcement has been using […] systems since 2015, in utmost secrecy. The software in question […] can track a person across a network of cameras, for instance, by the color of their sweater

Any policeman […] can request to use [it]

The potential use of facial recognition worries within the institution itself. […] In France, facial recognition is only authorized in rare exceptions

This massive installation was carried out outside the legal framework provided by a European directive and the French Data Protection Act

The National Commission on Informatics and Liberty (CNIL), a French administrative regulatory body, started an investigation against the French Minister of the Interior [1][2]. The Minister, Gérald Darmanin ordered an investigation [2].

• [1] https://nitter.oksocial.net/CNIL/status/1724745047537488019 [French]
• [2] https://web.archive.org/web/20231121093507/https://www.ouest-france.fr/politique/gerald-darmanin/entretien-gerald-darmanin-lantisemitisme-le-signe-dune-societe-qui-ne-va-pas-tres-bien-938b76ce-856c-11ee-9632-b62f00689e79 [French]

La Cnil […] annonce l’ouverture d’une enquête contre le ministère de l’Intérieur. Elle soupçonne la police d’utiliser un logiciel de reconnaissance faciale, depuis 2015, en dehors de tout cadre légal. Qu’en est-il ?

(CNIL suspects the police are using facial recognition outside any legal framework. Comments? - Gérald Darmanin’s answer: The news is true. I ordered an investigation.)